Krups EA9010 Espresso Machine

This New Coffee Maker Might Be The Nicest Ever. But How Much Would You Pay For It?

The Krups EA9010 automatic espresso machine costs $3,000. It can make 17 different coffee beverages at the push of a button. It doesn’t come with an instruction manual because it doesn’t need one; press power and its touchscreen lights up with simple, straightforward commands. The machine calms you. It understands that all you want is a good coffee — and it asks you for very little in return. (Apart from the three grand.)

For $3,000, you could buy a large latte every morning for about two years. The Krups EA9010 comes with a two-year warranty, incidentally. You’d also be saving the cost of coffee beans, which, depending on your taste, will run you anywhere from $6 to $20 a pound. (Unfortunately for me, I like the expensive stuff, and I justify the expense because carefully roasted quality beans sold less than three weeks from the day they were roasted produce a completely different beverage than what you can buy at Starbucks.)

Why does a $3,000 home coffee maker exist? What makes it worth $3,000? How hard is it to make a goddamned coffee?

Making drip coffee in a Mr. Coffee machine is easy, but making good espresso is a skill that can take years to nail down. Considering almost all the practice takes place before you’ve had your morning espresso, it’s a challenge before which many people understandably hesitate. I was lucky enough to get paid to learn, during a two-year stint as a barista in college. I found out that it’s not that hard to make espresso, but it’s very hard to make it well. You have to get the grind coarseness just right. You have to get the amount of coffee beans per shot just right. You have to tamp it down into the filter with just the right amount of firm pressure. And finally, you have to let the water pass through the filter for the right amount of time. If any of these given steps is performed carelessly, your drink will suffer, and yes, you’ll notice. So what’s the point of making manual espresso, in this age of jewel-toned metallic espresso pods? Fresh beans make better espresso, is why. Way better. Espresso-pod espresso has its place, but it lacks the brightness, the citrusy refreshing quality, of the real thing.

I’ve made espresso manually almost every morning for the past five years, and I love the process, if not the constant wiping up of coffee grounds. So it was with a bit of skepticism that I agreed to test-drive the Krups EA9010. It’s not that I need better coffee in my life — my coffee game is tight. I wanted to see if a completely automated system — that is, a system where the machine does every step for me, and eliminates all possible human error — can improve upon my hard-won skill.

Short answer: Its espresso isn’t noticeably better than mine, but it’s every bit as good. But this machine isn’t about the espresso as much as it is about the user experience. And in that regard, it is flawless.

If you are the kind of person who values a consistent, clean, impeccably executed hot drink every time, with no effort on your part, you will adore this machine. It is completely self-contained; no grounds to clean up, no tinkering, no spillage. Precise, tidy, and smart. It is unique among espresso makers in that it combines the cleanliness and convenience of espresso-pod espresso, only using freshly ground beans. The price tag starts making more sense when you think about it that way.

If you are the kind of person who values process, doing things by hand, and learning the ins and outs of why something is the way it is, you will find the Krups EA9010 unsatisfying. This is a machine, not a tool. You won’t learn its idiosyncrasies and accommodate them by adjusting your technique. You won’t work with it. Sheathed in shiny black and silver paneling, it will occupy its place on your counter like an aloof, intimidating colleague who is never wrong, not like a trusty companion. But, when it comes to making a delicious coffee heated to exactly your specifications first thing in the morning, you have to ask yourself: which one would you rather have?

The EA9010’s promotional material claims this machine will allow you to “prepare your drinks like a professional barista.” That’s not exactly accurate. Baristas are very good at making espresso by hand, unless they are Starbucks baristas, where everything is automated within an inch of its life (mostly for profit-maximization purposes, and not so much for the sake of making the perfect coffee). This machine can make espresso that will come out as good as most any you can get at a good coffee shop, but you won’t have done much more than tapped the screen a few times.

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